Aidan awoke in the dark with is head aching. He went to put a hand to it, only to find that he couldn’t. His hands were tied together behind his back. He tested the rope that held him and found that he couldn’t break it. There was a sound of a match striking, a hiss of flame, and he had to close his eyes against a sudden blossom of light.

After blinking the spots from his eyes, Aidan could see that he was in a small cave. A single dark passageway led upward, presumably to the surface. Aidan was leaning against the back wall of the cave. When he tried to lean forward to get to his feet, he found he could only move a few inches. The rope that tied his hands together apparently was attached to the cave wall somehow. Standing over him with a lantern in her hand was the girl from the inn.

“Well, vampire, you’re not feeling so cocky now, are you?”

“What?” Aidan was still dazed, but he didn’t think this would have made sense to him anyway.

“You had some nerve just waltzing into town like that. Choosing your next victim were you?” Her expression was a mixture of hatred and revulsion.

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t try to deny it, I know you’re a vampire.” She glared at him.

Aidan sighed. “Okay, I admit to being a vampire, but I haven’t done anything. I only got into town tonight. I’ve never been anywhere near here before.”

“How can I trust the word of an admitted killer?”

“Hey! I admitted to being a vampire, but I’m no killer!”

“All vampires are killers, it’s their nature. They have to kill to get blood to survive.”

“Lady, please, listen to me. I’m no killer. I never touch human blood, never.” Which, strictly speaking, was true. Flame Song, after all, wasn’t really human, and there had been that dwarf, but dwarves weren’t human either. Though that vampire hunter on Spectoria had been, come to think of it. Ok, so I have taken human blood, but I’ve never willingly taken innocent blood.

The girl hesitated, and then scowled. “No. It’s just a trick. Well, you’re not going to fool me. I’ll keep you here until I get what I want, and then I’ll put you out of your misery.”

With a feeling of resignation Aidan asked, “What do you want then?”

“I want to know where the other vampire lairs. I know you’re not the only one. I saw him just the other night, and he’s not an aerian. So tell me where he is and I’ll give you a quick release, otherwise I’ll leave you here until you starve to death.”

“I don’t know. Believe me, if I knew I’d tell you in a heartbeat, but I don’t know. I told you before, I only just arrived here. I’ve never laid eyes on this other vampire. I certainly don’t know where he is.”

“I don’t believe you.” She said flatly. “Well, you’ll change your mind in time.” Without a further word she turned and strode up the tunnel. The light from her lantern vanished, leaving Aidan in utter blackness. Aidan tested his bonds again. He tried to feel the knots that held him to the cavern wall, but the girl had done a good job of tying him up and he couldn’t get at them. He could feel a touch of cold metal, and guessed that there was a ring driven into the wall, and the rope looped through it before being tied around his wrists, but there was so little slack in the rope that he couldn’t be sure. The only thing he was sure of was that he wouldn’t be going anywhere any time soon. He sat alone in the darkness for a long time before he finally drifted off into an uneasy doze.